G&A Wombats earn berth in World Series

Monday

They began the year by winning their first three games. After they did drop their first contest, they amazingly won their next 19.

When that streak ended, the Wombats ran off nine more consecutive victories.

At the American Legion Mid-South Regional in New Orleans last week, Gauthier & Amedee lost their second game. It gave them zero margin for error.

The Wombats would have to win out to take home the tournament title and World Series berth, and that's exactly what they did.

Gauthier & Amedee had one more winning streak left in the tank. The Wombats soared for four straight victories.

It culminated in a 1-0 championship win over Arkansas state champion Bryant Black Sox on Sunday evening. This punched the Wombats' ticket for the American Legion World Series for the first time since 2013.

Gauthier & Amedee took the long way to Shelby, N.C.

After defeating Missouri's Cape Girardeau, 2-0, in their Wednesday opener, the Wombats suffered a 2-0 defeat against Tupelo (Mississippi) on Thursday.

Just one more loss would have ended their season, but with their backs pressed firmly against the wall, Gauthier & Amedee responded beautifully.

In Friday's elimination game, they beat Retif Oil, 7-4. It was Retif Oil the Wombats defeated to capture the state championship a month earlier.

On Saturday, Gauthier & Amedee kept the momentum going as they trounced Bryant 6-1. The victory pushed them through to the semifinals.

For their semifinal matchup on Sunday morning, they had to face Tupelo, the team that had dealt them their loss on Thursday.

Things were nip and tuck in the first inning.

To start the game, St. Amant's Zane Zeppuhar laced a double to right field. He then promptly scored on a single by Dutchtown's Jack Merrifield.

Merrifield was then sent home on a double by St. Amant's Reed Babin to give Gauthier & Amedee a 2-0 advantage.

However, Tupelo answered right back in the bottom of the inning with two runs of their own to tie the game.

From then on, it was all Wombats.

In the top of the third, Dutchtown's Brayden Caskey led off with a double, and Ascension Catholic's William Dunn got on base with a fielder's choice.

Zeppuhar then scored Caskey with a single.

East Ascension's Carson Dabadie followed it up with a base hit that scored both Zeppuhar and Dunn to give the Wombats a comfortable 5-2 lead.

In the sixth, Gauthier & Amedee added two more runs to ice the game away.

Dunn came up with an RBI single, and an additional run scored on the throw to gun out Dunn at second base.

That cushion was more than enough for St. Amant's Dwain Guice on the mound.

The Southeastern signee pitched a gem. He went all seven innings and only surrendered four hits and two runs.

At the plate, Caskey and Zeppuhar each went 2-4, while Dutchtown's Reid Bouchereau was 2-3. Dunn, Babin and Dabadie each had two RBIs.

The victory advanced Gauthier & Amedee to the championship game that evening.

With Guice done for the tournament, the Wombats needed someone to step up for them on the mound.

They got all they wanted from Dutchtown's Austin Bankert and East Ascension's Preston Thrash. The two combined to give up just five hits.

That amazing performance was needed, because the Wombats were stymied at the plate. They only produced three hits of their own against Bryant

They scored their lone run in the bottom of the first inning.

Zeppuhar produced a two-outs single, and he eventually scored on a line drive into right by Babin.

From there, Bankert threw six scoreless innings in which he surrendered just five hits.

In the seventh, Thrash came on to close the game. He struck out all three batters he faced.

Thrash was later named the tournament's MVP.

The Wombats' only hits of the game came from Babin, Zeppuhar and Caskey.

With the victory, Gauthier & Amedee is now headed to the Wold Series in Shelby, N.C., to compete against seven of the best American Legion teams in the country.

This is the organization's sixth World Series appearance. They previously made the event in 1988, 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996 and 2013.

The tournament is set to begin this Thursday, Aug. 16. A champion will be crowned next Tuesday.

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